Attachment for artificial legs



W. MONAGHAN.

ATTACHMENT FOR ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

Patented Feb" 16, 1897.

w NORRN WT GT il. b. c.

a citizen of the United States,

UNITED STATES PATENT omce.

WILLIAM MONAGHAN, OFCI-IEBOYGAN, MICHIGAN.

ATTACHMENT FOR ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,054, dated February 16, 1897. Application filed September 5, 1896. Serial No. 605,018. (No modeLl To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM MONAGHAN, residing at Cheboygan, ip the county of Oheboygan and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Attachment for Artificial Legs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in attachments for artificial legs.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device designed to be mounted on an artificial leg, adapted to support the upper portion of the body of the wearer and capable of yielding readilyto the movements of the body in stooping.

A further object of the invention is to provide a support which will be adapted to be placed under the arm similar to a crutch and which will be capable of adjustment to vary its length to facilitate walking up or down hill.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a support constructed inaccordance with this invention and shown applied to an artificial leg. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. i

. Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures of the drawings.

1 designates a support suitably secured to an artificial leg 2 and. composed of upper and lower portions connected at the front by a hinge 3, and the upper and lower portions are normally held in alinement to form a straight continuous support by an elastic connection 4, located at the back of the same and preferably composed of a strip of rubber or similar material secured to the adjacentends of the upper and lower portions of the support. The hinge is located adjacent to the waist of the wearer at a point above the waist-strap or belt 5, andit permits free movement of the person in stoopin g or leaning forward.

The artificial leg 2, which may be of any suitable construction, is provided at its top with asocket to receive the stump, and the support and the artificial leg are adapted to be applied to a stump of any length, and the size of the parts will correspond to the length of the stump of the wearer.

The waist-strap or belt 5 is secured to the lower portion of the support by a staple or any other suitable fastening device which is designed to be padded, and said strap or belt is connected with an artificial leg by front and rear hip-straps 6,"having a buckle connection to enable them to be readily adjusted to the wearer, and the buckles 7 are preferably carried by the belt or waist-strap, which is also provided with a buckle or any other the ends of the arm-rest are provided withtips 9 and are connected by a shoulder-strap 10. The tips consist of tapering sleeves provided at their outer ends with suitable eyes 11, and one end of the strap is provided with a loop engaging one eye, and has its other end passed through the other eye and engaginga buckle located intermediate of the ends of the shoulder-strap and permitting the latter to be readily adjusted to suit the wearer.

In order to facilitate walking up and down hill, the support is adapted to be adjusted to varyits length, and the upper portion is provided with'two telescoping sections 12 and 13, connected by a screw 14, adapted to be rotated by the wearer of the support to regu late the length of the same. The upper section 13 is arranged within the lower section 12, and is interiorly threaded to receive the screw 14, which is swiveled to the lower section 12 by means of a collar or flange 15. The collar or flange 15 is detachably secured to the screw in any suitable manner, and is arranged in an opening in the lower section 12, and by rotating it the upper section is moved inward oroutward to produce the desired length of support. The telescoping sections of the upper portion of the support are cylindrical, and in order to prevent them from rotating on each other the upper section is provided with a longitudinal slot 16, and the lower section is provided with a projection 17 fitting in the slot and preventing the sections from turning,

It will be seen that the attachment for artificial legs is simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is adapted to be readily adj usted to the wearer, and that it will yield to the movements of the upper portion of the body of a person and is capable of adjustment to vary its length to facilitate walking up or down hill.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination of an artificial leg, a support rigidly secured to the same at its lower end and provided between its ends with a hinged joint located above the artificial leg and arranged adjacent to the waist of the wearer, and means'for attaching the support and the artificial leg to the body of the wearer, substantially as described.

2. The combination of an artificial leg, a support composed of upper and lower sections, the lower section being rigidly secured at its lower end to the artificial leg, an arm-rest arranged at the upperend of the upper section, a hinge connecting the adjacent ends of the sections and located at the front of the support, and an elastic connection located at the back of the support and maintaining the two sections normally in alinement, substantially as described.

3. The combination of an artificial leg, and a support secured to the same provided at its top with an arm-rest and capable of longitudinal adjustment to vary its length to facilitate Walking up or down hill, substantially as described.

4. The combination of an artificial leg, a

support secured to the same and composed of two portions connected by an elastic joint located adjacent to the waist of the wearer, one of the portions of the support being composed of two telescoping sections and provided with an adjusting-screw arranged to be operated by the wearer to vary the length of the support, and means for attaching the support and the artificial leg to the body of the wearer, substantially as described.

5. The combination of an artificial leg, a support composed of upper and lower portions having an elastic joint, the upper portion being composed of two sections capable of longitudinal adjustment by the wearer, an arm-rest located at the top of the support and provided with a shoulder-strap, a waiststrap or belt attached to the lower portion of the support, and front and rear straps secured to the artificial leg and connected with the belt or strap, substantially as described.

6. The combination with an artificial leg, of a support extending upward therefrom, provided at its top with an arm-rest, and having a suitable joint adjacent to the waist of the wearer, whereby it is adapted to yield to the movements of the upper portion of the body, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses... 

